Pseudo Level 2

An hour later, with the infusion of soul power, the metal block began to crack.

As expected, without Teacher Ran's reminder, Su Luoheng still hadn't succeeded.

Even though he had tried his best to avoid previous mistakes, he still failed to engrave a successful core formation.

"Sigh..."

Su Luoheng sighed softly and set down the carving knife.

He picked up the failed metal block and began examining it carefully, reflecting on the reasons for this failure.

Truthfully, he had anticipated this outcome and wasn't surprised.

The process of learning soul engineering was never something that could be accomplished overnight. Even with the help of his soul skill, "Analysis," mastering the engraving of soul guide circuits still required time and practice.

So, Su Luoheng quickly adjusted his mindset and accepted this failure calmly.

He had already found the right direction, and once he fully absorbed today's lessons, he would naturally reach the level of a second-tier soul engineer.

There was no need to dwell on success or failure for now.

After summarizing the mistakes from this attempt, he prepared to dive back into his experiments.

Just then, Ran Yuming approached and patted his shoulder, pulling Su Luoheng out of his focus on the soul guide experiment.

Su Luoheng looked up at his teacher, "Teacher?"

"It's getting late. Let's stop for today."

Su Luoheng had already been at it for nearly two hours, and his soul power and mental energy were almost completely drained. If he continued without rest, he would soon be too exhausted to continue.

"Has it really been that long?"

Hearing his teacher's words, Su Luoheng stretched in surprise.

He had thought only an hour had passed, but before he realized it, night had fallen.

With that, he finally began to feel a bit of fatigue.

"From now on, you'll come to the lab every afternoon after academy to study. On holidays, you'll come as well. Here's the identity token for our lab, take good care of it."

As he spoke, Ran Yuming handed Su Luoheng a silver token.

"Your main task for now is to become proficient in soul guide circuits. Until I give you other instructions, you are to complete and summarize two core formations each day. As for the metal materials in the lab, feel free to use them without needing to report to me."

"Understood. Thank you, Teacher."

When Su Luoheng heard those words, he realized he had truly found the right mentor. Allowing him to use all the metal materials freely—this went beyond mere generosity.

He had expected that the teacher might provide some materials, but never imagined it would be to such an extent.

Ran Yuming waved his hand dismissively, "Alright, go rest early."

Just as Su Luoheng respectfully bowed and was about to leave the lab, Ran Yuming glanced at the five books stacked on the desk and suddenly remembered their earlier wager about the soul skill test. In the afternoon, he had already selected the books for Su Luoheng, but in the midst of everything, he'd almost forgotten. Luckily, it came to him in the end.

"Luoheng, wait a moment."

Ran Yuming handed Su Luoheng five carefully chosen soul guide books. "Take these and study them carefully. They'll be of great help to you."

"Thank you, Teacher."

"Alright, off you go."

With a beaming smile, Su Luoheng left the lab.

This mentorship was a huge win!

Now that he had Ran Yuming as his teacher, wouldn't all these books be available for him to read freely in the future?

Su Luoheng thought, 'Teacher Ran, you're my god!'

"..."

Soon, Su Luoheng's figure disappeared down the corridor, and Ran Yuming smiled with satisfaction as he glanced at the failed core formation left on the desk.

Though it wasn't a success, the progress compared to the first attempt was remarkable.

He believed it wouldn't be long before Su Luoheng officially advanced to the level of a second-tier soul engineer.

He was very pleased with the boy's learning ability. Humming a tune, Ran Yuming left the laboratory.

---

Su Luoheng, despite becoming Ran Yuming's disciple, didn't tell anyone. His days followed a simple routine: from classroom to lab, then back to the dormitory, living a life focused on his studies.

Aside from regular classes, Ran Yuming would occasionally give him private lessons. Although his teacher was often busy, Su Luoheng spent most of his time alone in the lab, with Ran making time each week to answer his questions.

The learning process was tough, but Su Luoheng found every day fulfilling.

If it weren't for Ran Yuming's refusal, Su Luoheng would have moved into the lab full-time. Who could resist the temptation of unlimited metal materials, especially for a soul engineer?

With Ran's meticulous guidance and access to abundant resources, Su Luoheng's progress in soul tools was rapid.

After about a week of practice and study, he finally succeeded in crafting a second-tier soul tool on his own!

If this had been in the Three Empires of the original Douluo Continent, Su Luoheng would have been certified as a second-tier soul engineer.

However, according to the Sun Moon Empire's standards, this wasn't enough.

A second-tier soul engineer must be able to craft a second-tier soul tool, but being able to make one didn't automatically qualify someone as a second-tier soul engineer. Someone like Su Luoheng, who could only forge one kind of second-tier soul tool, was still classified as a first-tier soul engineer. To officially be recognized as a second-tier soul engineer, he would need to master five different types of soul tools. This was why Sun Moon Empire soul engineers often viewed those from the Douluo Continent with disdain, considering them "inferior products."

This led to the creation of a hierarchy:

Mingde Hall-certified soul engineers > Sun Moon Empire soul engineers > Douluo Continent soul engineers.

This was also why, in the original story, Xuan Ziwen insisted on retesting Huo Yuhao's soul engineer abilities upon seeing his third-tier soul engineer badge—he viewed the qualifications granted by the Douluo Continent as too lenient.

The Sun Moon Empire, with its soul engineering focus, naturally looked down on such lax standards, believing it disrespected the craft.

During his studies with Ran Yuming, Su Luoheng couldn't help but notice the vast gap between his mother's teachings and his current teacher's. At first, Su Luoheng assumed this was due to Ran being a seventh-tier soul engineer, but after attending other seventh-tier soul engineers' lectures, he realized none of them came close to his teacher's level in any aspect. In fact, he thought Ran Yuming was comparable to the academy's eighth-tier soul engineers.

It was then that Su Luoheng realized his teacher was anything but ordinary!

But this raised another question: why was someone with such vast knowledge and abilities only a seventh-tier soul engineer?

Since Ran Yuming never mentioned it, and Su Luoheng couldn't find an opportunity to ask, he kept his curiosity to himself.

---

Time flew by.

Su Luoheng's expertise in second-tier soul tools grew, and he became increasingly proficient in engraving soul guide circuits. Within just a month, he had successfully crafted a second second-tier soul tool on his own, and after another month and a half, he completed his third and fourth tools in quick succession.

His progress was so rapid that even Ran Yuming couldn't help but praise him.

In the leveel of second-tier soul tools, there was little more Ran could teach Su Luoheng. What remained was mainly the refined judgment and experience that only a high-level soul engineer could provide.

Now, Su Luoheng was preparing to craft his fifth and final second-tier soul tool.